Community Outreach and Supports
The council committed funds for projects to support students with chronic conditions that may not have been able to attend school due to COVID-19. We awarded one grant to Building Community in NH, who provides vital support to immigrant communities in New Hampshire. In addition, we funded a grant to Friends in Action, a group that held virtual opportunities for youths to attend ‘field trips’ intended to entertain and educate.
Advisory Involvement with State Agencies
The council strengthened their relationship with the NH Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) by working on several projects including access to PPE, ensuring needed medical resources were available, and understanding the burden of care for those parents who have high risk youth with chronic health conditions as it relates to COVID-19. The council worked on developing messages to convey mask wearing as a public health issue, which keeps high risk populations safe.
The Chair, Audrey Gerkin, worked on initiatives with NH DHHS to help families who lack proper in-home support coverage, in particular for pediatric private duty nursing. The workforce crisis puts families in difficult situations to choose between employment and keeping their child at home with necessary medical care.